Riddet Institute Fellow Laureate Paul Moughan has led a research collaboration with Yili’s Innovation Centre in New Zealand which will help shape World Health Organisation policy on infant nutrition.

Distinguished Professor Moughan, who chaired the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nation’s expert consultation which published guidelines on protein quality for humans in 2013, has been working closely with global experts in a joint research effort co-ordinated by the Yili Innovation Centre Oceania (YICO) at Lincoln University.

In a series of papers published in the Journal of Nutrition (2023), Frontiers in Nutrition (2024) and the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2025), the work of Professor Moughan and his team has led to breakthrough research that provides a better understanding and far more accurate way of assessing how well babies can absorb and utilise the essential building blocks of protein from breastmilk.

Professor Moughan’s original work in 2013 provided the gold standard for evaluating protein quality in infant formula: the Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS).

His latest research with YICO, the Yili Global Maternal and Infant Nutrition Institute and Professor Yin Yulong, a Fellow of the Chinese Academy of Engineering at the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has produced new data which deepens this understanding further and has already led to new approaches to infant nutrition production within Yili.

“This has been a hugely productive international research alliance and will no doubt lead to further advances in FAO policy,’’ Professor Moughan said.

“Professor Yin is a digestive physiologist of significant international standing and his thoroughness, attention to detail and scientific leadership was crucial to the success of the collaboration.

“The alliance’s work will also lead to global impacts on the production of infant formula leading to improvements in the long-term health of babies and children.

“It has also been very enjoyable working with the scientific team within Yili. I have been very impressed by the technical capabilities of the team and working with them has actually been quite delightful.’’

Head of YICO, Dr Philip Wescombe, said the Yili Innovation Centre Oceania principal aim was to act as a hub for research collaboration across Oceania.

“After 10 years, we are now well-established in driving innovation by strengthening ties with startups, expanding business opportunities, and fostering greater interaction between researchers, industry, and consumers,’’ Dr Wescombe said.

Resident Director of Yili Group Oceania Region, Zhiqiang Li, said Yili was proud of the work of YICO and of Yili’s teams across Oceania and in Inner Mongolia.

“We are honoured to learn of the warm and respectful relationships the company’s internal technical staff have developed with leading global researchers in China and New Zealand, the support we can provide as Asia’s largest dairy producer, and the fifth largest dairy company in the world,’’ Mr Li said.

References

Hodgkinson, S. M., Xiong, X., Yan, Y., Wu, Y., Szeto, I. M.-Y., Li, R., Wescombe, P., Duan, S., Liu, H., Yin, Y., Lim, W. X. J., & Moughan, P. J. (2023). An accurate estimate of the amino acid content of human milk collected from Chinese women adjusted for differences in amino acid digestibly. The Journal of Nutrition, 153, 3439–3447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.10.009

Moughan, P. J., Deglaire, A., Yan, Y., Wescombe, P., Lim, W. X. J., Stroebinger, N., Duan, S., Szeto, I. M.-Y., & Hodgkinson, S. (2024). Amino acid reguirements of the infant: The amino acid composition of human breast milk. Frontier in Nutrition, 11, 1446565. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1446565

Wu, Y., Yan, Y., Xiong, X., Li, R., Duan, S., Tang, M., Szeto, I. M.-Y., Liu, H., Hodgkinson, S. M., Moughan, P. J., Wescombe, P., Wang, J., & Yin, Y. (2025). Effect of different ratios to β casein in infant formula on true ileal digestibility and intestinal morphology of suckling piglets. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 73, 6144–6150. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.4c10520

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